Regarding the regulations on advertising activities in the press in Decree 38/2021/ND-CP (Decree 38), advertising experts and many press agencies believe that these regulations will cause difficulties. difficult for the press economy when officially applied. Director of the Department of Grassroots Culture Ninh Thi Thu Huong (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) discussed with Culture Newspaper around these contents.
Public opinion is having a lot of opinions about the regulations related to advertising activities in the press mentioned in Decree 38. Illustration .PV: Dear Director, there are many opinions about the regulations related to advertising activities in the press mentioned in Decree 38, which will take effect on June 1. In particular, the main contents of interest are related to advertising activities on electronic newspapers. Could you tell me more specifically about the current regulations on advertising on electronic newspapers that are being applied? – Director of Ninh Thi Thu Huong: According to the Law on Press, e-newspaper is a type of press using writing, images, and sound, which is transmitted on the network environment, including electronic newspapers and electronic magazines (Clause 6, Article 3). . Electronic newspapers and other types of newspapers may publish and broadcast advertisements. However, the posting and broadcasting of advertisements must comply with the provisions of the Press Law and the provisions of the law on advertising (Article 44 of the Press Law). Accordingly, the Law on Advertising has specific and separate regulations for each type of press, suitable to the nature, functions and characteristics of each type, especially regulations on content and area. , duration, ad rate. For example, for printed newspapers, the advertising area must not exceed 15% of the total area of a newspaper publication or 20% of the total area of a magazine publication, except for newspapers and magazines specialized in advertising; and must have signs to distinguish advertising from other contents (Clause 1, Article 22 of the Law on Advertising). For audio and video newspapers, Article 22 of the Law on Advertising stipulates: the advertising duration must not exceed 10% of the total duration of the broadcast program per day, except for the advertising duration on channels and programs specialized in advertising; must have signs to distinguish advertising contents; regulations on programs not to broadcast advertising; regulations on the number of breaks, the time of advertising in feature films, entertainment programs, regulations on the position and area of advertising in the form of running words or a series of moving images close to the bottom of the screen. For electronic newspapers, Clause 1, Article 23 of the Law on Advertising stipulates that advertisements on electronic newspapers must: Do not design, arrange advertising parts mixed with news content; For ads that are not in a fixed area, it must be designed so that readers can actively turn off or open the ad, the maximum waiting time to turn off or open the ad is 1.5 seconds. Thus, according to the above regulations, the e-newspaper is arranged to advertise in a fixed, separate area, not mixed with the news content. For this ad, there is no restriction on the length of the ad nor is it designed so that readers can actively turn on or off the ad. But for ads that are not in a fixed area, it must be designed so that readers can actively turn off or open the ad, the maximum waiting time to turn off or open the ad is 1.5 seconds. .Many opinions believe that the regulation of the on and off time of advertisements not in a fixed area of the electronic newspaper is 1.5 seconds too strict, reducing advertising revenue and affecting the development of the newspaper. electronic? What is your opinion about these comments? – The purpose of this regulation is to protect viewers because the press is an information product about events and issues in social life. Readers when viewing newspapers are always serious in receiving information. Therefore, all types of newspapers have regulations on fixed areas (space, duration) dedicated to advertising, but regulations on advertising that are not in fixed areas will not be available in print or print newspapers. Let’s try to imagine a news program on television or an editorial in a print newspaper with advertising images covering the whole frame, how will viewers react? 
Director of the Department of Grassroots Culture Ninh Thi Thu Huong Regulations for online newspapers are still allowed to advertise not in fixed areas, but must “Make sure to design so that readers can actively turn on or off ads. The maximum time to turn off or open the ad is 1.5 seconds. Please note here must be very careful from “active”, Because it’s the reader’s right. If they are watching important news, they can immediately turn off the ad so it doesn’t affect them, if they don’t want to turn it off, the ad can continue to play without time control. Therefore, it can be seen that this regulation does not limit advertising activities of electronic newspapers, but only meets two requirements of viewers: one is to have a key to turn off (on); Second, if there is an on or off operation, they must respond immediately within 1.5 seconds, to avoid the case that readers have to watch ads that are forced, inhibiting, and cannot fully and continuously view information. that they want to receive. .Compared between Decree 38 and Decree 158/2013/ND-CP (Decree 158), regulations on violations for advertising not in fixed areas on electronic newspapers, there is no difference. Thus, the regulation on “turning off and on after 1.5 seconds” was not issued until Decree 38? – Right. Clause 3, Article 55 of Decree 158 stipulates: A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts: Failing to design so that readers can actively turn off or open advertisements not in a fixed area; The timeout to turn off or open the ad not in a fixed area exceeds 1.5 seconds. Until Decree 38, Clause 2, Article 38 also stipulates: A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts: Failing to design so that readers can actively turn off or open advertisements not in a fixed area; Waiting time to turn off or open ads not in a fixed area exceeds 1.5 seconds; Design and layout the ad mixed into the news and article content. Thus, the handling of violations against regulations on advertising not in fixed areas has been regulated since 2013 in Decree 158, not until Decree 38 was issued. It can be seen that the handling of the above behavior in the two Decrees is the same, there is no change. Decree 158 and Decree 38 are documents under the Law, on subjects, acts and sanctioning levels are consistent with the provisions of the Law on Advertising and the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations. . So, according to the provisions of Article 23 of the Law on Advertising and Clause 2, Article 38 of Decree 38, specifically, how will the act of advertising on an e-newspaper be sanctioned, ma’am? Director General Ninh Thi Thu Huong: In fact, according to the feedback of readers and the monitoring and inspection process of the management agency, the act of advertising that is not in a fixed area of the electronic newspaper will be sanctioned if it does not meet two requirements: Not necessary. design keys to be able to actively turn off (on) ads; When there is an operation to turn on or off but the off (on) time is not guaranteed to be 1.5 seconds. Of course, in the processing process, it will have to take into account the speed of the transmission, the quality of the data network access to measure the time and consider whether the behavior is intentional or due to the objective factors of the electronic press agency to consider. , handle accordingly. . Along with concerns about advertising revenue of electronic newspapers will be narrower, many other opinions also wonder about social networking platforms such as Youtube, Google … are not regulated by this regulation? Could you please share your views on these concerns? Director General Ninh Thi Thu Huong: We must clearly recognize that the press in general and the electronic press in particular is an essential means of information for social life; is the mouthpiece of the Party, the State, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations; is a forum for the people according to the provisions of the Press Law. With such an important role, it is necessary to have separate regulations on advertising for each type of press, in accordance with the functions, structure, principles and operational purposes of the press agency. Social networking platforms such as Youtube, Google … are currently thriving, occupying a large advertising market share, but these platforms are not press agencies, operating criteria as well as participants. , the interaction is also different. On the other hand, the operation of social networking sites is governed by a system of regulations on management, provision and use of Internet services and information on the network. Therefore, the regulation and application to advertising activities on social networks is not the same as that of the press agency, but it must still aim at ensuring the truthfulness and accuracy of information, protecting the interests of the media. to the recipient, without causing harm to national security, social order and safety in accordance with the Law on Advertising. .Can you tell me that in the near future, the solutions will be strengthened by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to further improve the efficiency of state management of advertising activities, especially the efficiency of the enforcement of legal documents. related? – There will be many enhanced solutions, of which the first solution is to continue to propagate and disseminate to relevant organizations in order to agree on awareness to strictly enforce the provisions of the law on advertising. . In 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will conduct a review of 10 years of implementation of the Law on Advertising and guiding documents in order to grasp changes in advertising activities, new means and methods of advertising, from which to make recommendations. , propose amendments to the regulations in line with reality. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also strengthen coordination with relevant ministries and branches to amend and complete the legal framework for advertising activities as well as in coordination in inspection, examination and timely handling of illegal acts. violate the law on advertising. At the same time, the Ministry will also conduct training activities to improve professional expertise and state management skills in advertising for cadres and civil servants from central to local levels. . Thank you very much, Chief! “… The current regulation for online newspapers is that advertising is still not allowed in fixed areas, but it must be designed so that readers can actively turn on or off ads. The maximum time to turn off or open the ad is 1.5 seconds. Please note here that the word “active” must be very careful, because that is the right of the reader. If they are watching important news, they can immediately turn off the ad so it won’t affect, if they don’t want to turn it off, the ad can continue to play without time control … “. TOLD HIM (perform)
You must log in to post a comment.